Plain Press

  • Legal Aid can help with Federal Income Tax issues

    by Tonya Sams      If you are having tax issues, you don’t have to navigate it alone – Legal Aid is here to help!  Legal Aid’s Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) is a free legal service that helps to resolve taxpayer disputes with the IRS regarding federal income tax matters.      Legal Aid attorneys can…

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  • Who pays property taxes to support services when the economy is dominated by nonprofits?

    by Stephanie Czekalinski  This is part three of a series examining the tax-exempt status of nonprofit hospitals in Northeast Ohio and how the loss of tax dollars impacts communities. (Plain Press, September 2022)           Fifty years ago, when Clevelanders needed to fund schools, pay for parks, or expand libraries, they relied on booming tax revenue from large…

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  • Debate over tax breaks for nonprofit Cleveland area hospitals is also about racism and redlining

    Debate over tax breaks for nonprofit Cleveland area hospitals is also about racism and redlining by Stephanie Czekalinski & Michael Indriolo  This is part two of a series examining the tax-exempt status of nonprofit hospitals in Northeast Ohio and how the loss of tax dollars impacts communities. Plain Press, August 2022        Nonprofit hospitals like the Cleveland Clinic receive…

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  • Cleveland nonprofit hospitals get millions in property tax breaks. Many are asking, ‘Is it worth it?’

    Cleveland nonprofit hospitals get millions in property tax breaks. Many are asking, ‘Is it worth it?’ by Stephanie Czekalinski & Michael Indriolo Plain Press, July 20220                             Nora and David Brown live in a two-story single-family home in Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood. The modest home on East 100th Street, with a gabled roof and an enclosed porch, is just a block away…

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  • Cleveland City Council passes new tax abatement legislation

    Cleveland City Council passes new tax abatement legislation Plain Press, July 20220                             At a special meeting held on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, Cleveland City Council passed legislation that will restructure the City of Cleveland’s tax abatement policy.       A press release immediately following the meeting from Cleveland City Council Chief of Communications Joan Mazzolini explains the new…

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  • Local and state politicians show more empathy to developers than to Cleveland’s children

    Local and state politicians show more empathy to developers than to Cleveland’s children by Chuck Hoven Plain Press, July 20220                             Cleveland’s new tax abatement policy set to start on January 1, 2024, while better than the current policy, does little to address the glaring need to substantially increase the flow of property taxes to the Cleveland…

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  • Participatory Budgeting Cleveland wants public involved in decisions about spending of American Rescue Act funds

    PHOTO BY TAURUS KINGS PHOTOGRAPHY Members of the Participatory Budgeting Cleveland Team:  Gwen Garth, Trevor Pollack, Laylah Allen, Molly Martin, Austin Davis, Robin Brown, Loh, Daniel Ortiz, Angelique Salizan, Kayla Knight, Chrissy Stonebraker-Martinez, and Jonathan Welle. Participatory Budgeting Cleveland wants public involved in decisions about spending of American Rescue Act funds by Bruce Checefsky (Plain Press,…

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  • File your taxes now to claim your child and earned income tax credits

    (Plain Press, March 2022)    The IRS is now accepting 2021 tax returns! Sign up for the Expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).    There is roughly $193 billion waiting for families with children — all they need to do is file their taxes to claim it.    The American Rescue Plan made significant changes…

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  • Legal Aid offers free legal help with tax problems

    by Tonya Sams (Plain Press, February 2022)  Tax season is headed our way faster than lake effect snow, and there are many community organizations helping Northeast Ohio residents with tax preparation.        The pandemic has affected how and when we file taxes, as well as what we file. One of the most recent federal tax policy changes…

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